February 17
Baja Fresh
Menu
- Beans (Black and Pinto), leftover from Baja Fresh
- Rice, leftover from Baja Fresh
- Cilantro, Salsa, Pickled Jalapeños, also from Baja Fresh
- Grated Cheese and Lettuce
- Tortilla Shell [View Recipe]
Quick View
Ingredients
- 4 8-inch tortillas
- oil
- salt
Instructions
We start by measuring how much oil we will need in our pot to submerge the fluted brioche molds. We fill the Dutch oven about ¾ full (it is always a good idea to leave a couple of inches of space at the top so the oil does not boil over) with a combination of peanut and canola oils. We have lots of peanut oil around from our <a year="2003" month="12" day="24" label="beef">Christmas Eve fondue</a>, which is why we use it (along with canola oil). We begin heating the oil over medium-high heat, with our thermometer submerged and clipped to the pot. We want the oil to reach <temp val="360"/>, which takes about 15 minutes.
When the oil is about ready, we lower the heat to medium. We fit a tortilla into one of the molds and then place the other mold on top. We gently lower the sandwich of molds into the hot oil, with tongs, and then press the top mold down to keep the shape while the tortilla begins to fry. There is a lot of splattering so we stand back as best we can. When the bubbles begin to subside, after just a couple of minutes, we remove the top mold with a combination of our tongs and "spider", and then our bottom mold, keeping as much oil in the Dutch oven as possible. We place the hot metal molds into the metal colander in our sink and then remove the fried tortilla shell and place on a paper towel lined plate. The shell is nicely shaped, crisp and lightly browned. We season with salt and get ready to fry another shell.
We carefully put another tortilla between the molds - they are <b>very</b> hot - and fry in the oil. We repeat for all of the shells.
Since she is the primary cook in the family, Robin's pregnancy has the effect of sending us out for a meal more often than we would like. Last night, we went to Baja Fresh, a nation wide chain that serves quite tasty southwestern fare. Three quarters of our family has always been fond of Baja Fresh, the exception being our daughter. Last night we finally found something that even she would eat - a tortilla bowl filled with rice, beans and grilled chicken. Since she liked it so much, we tried reproducing it on our own as part of dinner tonight. To everyone's delight, we met with surprising success.
We are still waiting on the baby. She is incredibly active in there, to the point of giving Robin many contractions. The contractions are not regular just yet, but that does not mean much with Robin...